Calendar and scheduler application software are widely used by users to plan their time. One function provided by some conventional calendar applications is to allow users to have access to the calendars of other users and view information about what other users have planned on certain days. This information pulled from other users can be helpful for scheduling events, such as business meetings, that require the attendance of various participants. One example of such a conventional calendar application is LOTUS ORGANIZER, although there are numerous other applications with similar features. In general, conventional applications rely upon each user to update his calendar regularly in order for group scheduling functions to be effective.
One problem that arises with conventional calendar applications is that information pulled from other user's calendars may not be accurate or up-to-date. Consequently, it can be problematic to use that information as a basis for scheduling events and conflicts may exist that are not reflected by the pulled calendar information. When users fail to update their calendars, events may be scheduled during time periods in which some participants actually have conflicts.